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The most common misconception about video marketing is that it is hard. That doesn't have to be true at all. I recorded, edited, and published my latest farm video right from my cell phone. Quite honestly, that blows my mind, and I'm a geek.
Let's take a look at the three biggest fears that people have when it comes to video marketing.

3 Fears of Video Marketing

1. I will look like a fool on camera.

So? If you are yourself, you're honest, and you have a good message you will not look like a fool. When I think back to my beginning videos I cringe. I have done some really embarrassing stuff in my day. The good thing is, if it's terrible, you can delete it! If it's not half bad then you need to post it before you over-think it.

Take a second to make sure your hair isn't insane (unless that's what you're going for), make sure your surroundings are at least a little orderly (at least what's in frame), and speak with confidence.

2. I have no idea how to work a video camera.

Learning a piece of "video equipment" is no different then learning to use any other piece of farm equipment. All you have to possess is the earnest desire to learn and the knowledge that this new skill will help your business. Through the owners manual, the internet, and some young tech geek you will be shooting tons of video in no time.

3. I can't edit the video once I have shot it.

Again, I refer to #2. Earnest desire to learn, and the knowledge that this will help your business. For every person out there who wants to learn something there is a teacher. Just start asking people. You can find a pro video editor in one of your kids, in a friend, or even in an actual professional who wants to trade for some veggies.

Once you've conquered those fears just upload it to YouTube, figure out how to embed it on your website, and make sure to share it with your customers. If this still scares you that is ok, write me a note in the comments section asking me to create a tutorial on video creation and editing and I will make it happen.

Right click here to download the MP3

In this farm podcast you will learn:

Getting started on Youtube

Creating video to illustrate a point or farming technique

Using video to educate

Why simple videos are often more effective

The elements of an effective video

What elements of your online marketing benefit your offline store

How Christie got to speak for TEDX

What it means to be “on” all the time

What is a “Content Management System”

What’s the best practice for Search Engine Optimization?

Let the perfection go!

Interview with Christy Hemenway of Gold Star Honey Bees:

christy hemenway

Just what did bees do before beekeepers?

Searching for the answer to what seemed like it should have been a simple question, Christy Hemenway launched her own investigation into what was really behind the growing problems with honeybees. She soon came to the conclusion that with honeybees, “less is more,” in other words, less human manipulation is better for the honeybee.

This led Christy to found Gold Star Honeybees – to advance a low-tech, natural beekeeping system known as the top bar hive. The most important feature of a top bar hive is that it allows the bees to make their own natural beeswax honeycomb. Because for bees, ”It’s all about the wax.”

Gold Star’s top bar hive beekeeping equipment is all natural, non-toxic, clean and green, and supports the making of natural beeswax - beeswax made BY bees, FOR bees!

At TEDxDirigo in 2011, Christy highlighted the important connection between honeybees, pesticide-free food, and people in her TED Talk – “Making the Connection – Honeybees, Food and YOU.” The inter-relatedness of bees, human health, the health of the planet and in fact, all of nature suddenly becomes very clear. You can watch it here: http://bit.ly/TedxDirigoTalk

Christy Hemenway is the author of The Thinking Beekeeper – A Guide to Natural Beekeeping in Top Bar Hives. Published in 2013 by New Society Publishers – this book contains the practical how-to information you need to begin keeping bees in this natural method. http://www.thinkingbeekeeper.com/

Christy advocates and agitates for MORE organic food, LESS industrial agriculture, and of course, for BETTER beekeeping – natural and sustainable. It’s a case of understanding that instead of one beekeeper industrially managing 50,000 beehives, and lots of trucks and treatments, shouldn’t it really be 50,000 beekeepers each tending a few hives of their own in their own backyard garden?

gold star honey bees

Gold Star Honeybees supports top bar beekeepers with education. A Gold Star Honeybees Weekend Intensive offers a bee’s eye view of the reasons that top bar hives make sense – for bees, for beekeepers, and for the planet. Learn where to site a hive, how to inspect and manage it, what to do about “cross-comb,” and how to conduct the “dual harvest” that top bar hives are famous for. This comprehensive weekend class inspires people to be confident natural beekeepers.

If you are interested in a shorter workshop: The How and Why of Keeping Bees in Top Bar Hives offers a quick overview of the “how-to” and “why-to” of stewarding bees in top bar hives. This workshop is ideal for those just getting into, or beginning to learn about, natural beekeeping.

Classes are offered nationally, and we’d be happy to bring these opportunities to your area. Call for information about hosting a live Weekend Intensive or The How and Why of Keeping Bees in Top Bar Hives where you live! 207-449-1121.

Christy encourages people to think outside the box and reminds us, in the words of John Muir:

“When one tugs at a single thing in nature, one finds it attached to the rest of the world.”

Take aways:

What common questions do you get about your farm that can be cleared up with a simple video?

What is one thing you wish your customers knew about you, your farm, or your products? Would a video help them learn?

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Thanks for taking the time to listen in, and let me know what you think. You can leave a comment below, send me an e-mail, reach me on Facebook , or leave a 5 star rating in iTunes if you liked the show.